Depth hands W. Tennis the victory

Loose limbs can sometimes sink ships -- but not the Penn women's tennis team.

Despite injuries to their top two singles players -- Alice Pirsu and Sanela Kunovac, No. 1 and No. 2, respectively -- the Quakers were able to prevail against No. 42 Virginia, 4-3 at Levy Pavilion on Sunday.

It was the fourth-straight victory for No. 33 Penn (5-1).

"The win showed the injuries didn't take away from the team because our other players were healthy and focused," Pirsu said. "It is hard to play top teams when you have three players injured, but it shows that the other part of the team is just as strong."

The second half of the team played a pivotal role in the victory after Penn's No.1, No. 2 and No. 4 dropped their matches.

It took straight set victories from No. 3 Nicole Ptak and No. 5 Shelah Chao to set up No. 6 Michelle Yeh to deliver the final knockout blow.

And Yeh, she did.

Picking up a straight set victory of her own, 6-4, 6-2 over Christine Kim, the frehsman gave the Quakers their second win over Virginia this year.

The Red and Blue claimed a decisive 6-1 victory over the Cavaliers on Oct. 12 in the ECAC Championships.

"It was awesome," Yeh said. "It is good to help your teammates out when everyone is not playing their best."

Penn knew it would have to play its best to defeat a Virginia team that was riding high after a 4-3 triumph over Princeton the previous day.

After losing the doubles' point to the Tigers, Virginia stormed back to claim the match with wins at the No. 1 through No. 4 spots.

"The day before they got a pretty big win against Princeton," Yeh said. "They came in with a little bit of confidence."

But Penn quickly erased the Cavaliers mental edge.

Capturing all three doubles matches en route to the doubles' point, the Quakers showed that they too were ready to go.

"During doubles it seemed like we wanted it a lot more than they did," Ptak said.

And then Virginia regained its swagger.

The Cavaliers stormed back to steal wins at the No.1, No. 2 and No. 4 spots, allowing for Yeh's match-clinching triumph.

Bothered by a nagging elbow injury Pirsu was felled in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

It was Kunovac's default at No. 2, however, that was a bit more difficult to swallow.

After dropping the first set, 6-3, to Virginia's Amy O'Donnell, Kunovac rallied to claim the second set in a 7-6 tiebreaker, paving the way for a pivotal third set.

It was a set that would not be played, however, as Penn -- with Yeh's victory having preceded the conclusion of Kunovac's match -- had already secured the win.

"I just had to default in the third set," Kunovac said. "My knees were hurting and I slipped toward the end of the second set and injured my knee. It was safer and smarter to just stop there."

While Kunovac knew that with a win already in hand defaulting her match was the prudent move, the Quakers' sophomore captain was still bothered that she wasn't able to resist the injury and play the decisive third set.

"I was mad," Kunovac said. "I was very happy that we beat Virginia, but personally I was very mad.

"Initially, you don't want to give away anything. Just to give a set away without playing it kind of hurts."

Penn will not have to worry about giving a set away due to injury for a while, however. The Quakers next match is scheduled for March 1 against Maryland in College Park.

By the time their second consecutive matchup with an ACC foe rolls around, the Red and Blue hope their ailments will be cured.

"We have a little break before our next match," Yeh said. "Hopefully, we'll all heal and get better."

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